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Trump wasn't part of the bottom-tier debate, but he was still center stage

Portraits of candidates are placed on the podium in front Air Force One that flew President Reagan, ahead of the Republican Presidential Debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Sept. 16, 2015.

Donald Trump wasn't on stage for the first of two Republican primary debates held Wednesday night, but he may as well have been. The first few minutes of the CNN debate showcased the various ways in which Trump's rivals view the businessman who is currently leading them all in the polls.

Moderator Jake Tapper first brought up Trump when he asked Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal about that time he called Trump an "unstable narcissistic maniac." Jindal has been aggressively attacking Trump, even releasing a video on Facebook this week mocking his knowledge of foreign policy. Trump, for his part, has dismissed Jindal's attacks, pointing out that the Louisiana governor is barely registering in the polls.

Trump, he added, doesn't believe in the principles of the Republican party. Rather, Jindal said, "he believes in Donald Trump."

Jindal's comments on the debate stage echoed a statement he made before the debate in which he said Trump "will waste the conservative movement’s last, best chance to Make America Great Again, by gifting the White House to Hillary Clinton."

The treatment of Trump put an early split between Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum on display. Santorum, for his part, said personal attacks please just one person: Hillary Clinton.

"I don't think it helps when Republicans attack Republicans personally," Santorum said. "The focus of this debate should be on how we're going to win this election ... And we're not doing that when we're out there picking on each other and calling each other names."

Santorum is playing opposite of Jindal when it comes to Trump - calculating that Republicans don't want attacks

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said there was a "long way to go" until there's a Republican nominee, brushing aside the fact that Trump leads him in his home state. Meanwhile, former New York Gov. George Pataki was more blunt in his assessment of Trump.

"Donald Trump is unfit to be president of the United States," Pataki said.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the only GOP candidate who has refrained from directly attacking Trump. The two men even appeared together in Washington D.C. at a rally in opposition of the Iran nuclear deal.

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